Here Be Dragons
by The Ryuu Victoire Tea Party
Summary: To Hiccup, turns out girls are as much unchartered territory as taming dragons. Especially girls with a knack for swinging around large battle axes.
1. Chapter 1

So turns out this movie is my favourite movie of all time. Eh. Whoddathunk.

_Pairing: Hiccup/Astrid _

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**Here Be Dragons**

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The snowstorm raged against the rooftop furiously: menacing chunks of hail had meddled in with the snowflakes as the temperature dropped during the evening. The winter season was indeed advancing relentlessly. Hiccup sighed, poking at the cinders of the furnace morosely. He had several weeks worth of work at the forge come morning and really ought to pack up and go home. He'd been instructed with taking over the forge while Gobber, his father, the strongest Viking and the young recruits left for the annual hunt the next morning. Every year before the ice set in, the strongest Viking left for the last hunt of the year. It was noteworthy for it was the first hunt the younger recruits would partake in, an unnofficial rite of passage for any Viking worth their salt.

Despite the events of the past few days, and what Hiccup had done for the village, Stoick the Vast - Hiccup's rather imposingly large father - had made it explicitly clear that his son was not going to be coming along.

Hiccup sighed morosely, putting away a few of the black iron tools back up against the wall where they hung. There was no point in moseying about. He wobbled a little on his bad leg, forgetting for a moment how to walk with the steel contraption Gobber had made. Every so often, Hiccup completely forgot (despite the throbbing ache in what was left in his left leg) that he had to think before waking these days. Sometimes he would topple over in surprise while going down steps or walking uphill. Though he had to remind himself less now, it was still a shock in the morning to stretch his limbs and realize one foot was missing. The first couple of mornings had been especially painful, but Toothless's presence and constant misbehaving had been crucial in letting go of what had once been there. He had so much more now – what was a left foot when Toothless, his best friend, couldn't fly without his help? They could still fly together. When Hiccup didn't have to be on the ground, that's what he was doing.

Hiccup ignored the pain in his leg, but it was enough to jolt him from his little reverie. He was also going to have to tweak his steel leg soon. The one Gobber had made wasn't so bad for standing or even for riding Toothless, but at the end of the day, walking was intolerable.

He sighed, leaning against the wall while he steadied his breathing. He started thinking about the relatively short walk uphill to go home, and in this hailstorm weather, it was going to be barrels of fun.

And to think Toothless (that good for nothing useless reptile) was probably curled up on his bed, underneath a dozen or so covers, enjoying the warmth of a nice, roaring fire.

Hiccup pressed his forearm over his eyes, blocking out the flickering red light from the furnace's dying cinders. The pain in his thigh would fade within moments, he hoped, and then he'd start walking.

"Hiccup?"

The voice was soft but Hiccup flew three feet in the air anyways. He pivoted on his good leg and leaned his back again the wall to face a lean blonde girl who stood maybe a few inches taller than him.

"Ahhh- oh hi Astrid. Hi Astrid…" he tried catching his breath, "Hi. Astrid. How…Yeah…How are you?"

"Hey." She looked at him with her grey blue eyes full of concern, her face an expression he hadn't seen since the day of his dragon-killing trial, when she'd wanted him to promise nothing would go wrong.

"Is your leg alright?" she asked, her voice a softness that surprised him.

Hiccup swallowed a little too loudly for his own liking. "What do you mean?" He played dumb, badly.

She walked the few steps that distanced them, and placed her hand on her shoulder, looking at the ground. "I've been here a while, and you haven't even noticed. And you were clutching your leg. It must hurt you a lot." She stated, biting her lip.

Astrid finally lifted her gaze to his, and to her surprise he looked ashamed. Hiccup had done such amazing things in the past few days, and in the whirlwind of days that had followed his exploits, she hadn't considered that his leg might still hurt – he hadn't let on. But when he wasn't teaching the villagers how to train dragons, he would seek refuge in the skies with Toothless or come get work done in the forge- she supposed it was no surprise she hadn't noticed his pain. Her heart fell. She'd felt a deep respect growing for the boy recently, he was one of the few their age she admired. Some friend she was turning out to be.

He lowered his eyes and saw the clumps of snow still stuck to the brown fur of Astrid's cloak. She slowly untied the clasp of her cloak before placing the snowy fur mess rest on a nearby table. Then, wordlessly, she edged up next to him and snuck her arm around his waist.

"Umm…Astrid? What are you doing?" he asked when she tugged him forward, pushing his weight off the stone wall of the forge.

"I'm going to take a look at that leg of yours. You might need to change the bandage, in which case I can do that for you."

Hiccup grimaced. He knew what his leg looked like. He wasn't sure he wanted Astrid seeing his wound. Even if Snotlout often remarked on how much chicks dig the scars.

"Astrid, thanks, that's really...nice...of you, but that's really not necessary…"

"Would you please hang on to me? It's easier to support you if you put your arm around my shoulders." Astrid cut him off, ignoring his protests completely. Hiccup quickly complied, wrapping his left arm around her shoulders, conscious not to hold on too hard.

She got him to the a chair close to the main fire pit. He sat down and got comfortable while she went to a stack of firewood and added some more kindling to the hot coals. The room got slightly brighter and warmth flooded over his face. Hiccup was grateful for the silence as she moved around in the soft firelight. She was being really kind, but it wasn't making the feeling of helplessness he was feeling go away.

The wind howled and shook the forge slightly. The fire dwindled momentarily before glowing again.

Astrid found a stool and picked it up, carrying it effortlessly towards him. She trained day and night, and it showed. Her bare arms were lean with muscle, and Hiccup was envious and awed at the same time. She was so much stronger than she looked, and he wished he could be like that. He was _exactly_ as weak as he looked.

She sat in front of him and gently picked his steel foot and placed it on her lap. Hiccup didn't speak as her fingers traced the shiny metal curiously.

"Hiccup." She said, pulling the fabric of his pant back up his leg gingerly. "I'm so sorry." she slowly met his eyes, and he realized her eyes were shining in the firelight. Hiccup wasn't sure, but she looked like she was hiding tears. Viking didn't cry much – so Hiccup found it hard to tell.

Hiccup's eyes widened. They hadn't had time together completely alone like this – this was the first time since he'd taken her flying that first night. To hear her voice so soft, so devoid of her tough girl front, was a bit hipnotizing. He'd spent a lot of his childhood staring wistfully after her and the other tough kids. So much had changed since the days when he'd sneak off after practice to train with Toothless. He had no idea what to say to make her glistening eyes happy again, but he knew she didn't have to feel sorry for what had happened.

"Astrid…this...this really isn't your fault."

She nodded faintly. After giving his wound a long look, she continued unwrapping the bandages holding his leg and the steel peg together. Finally the beige and white straps of cloth unravelled to reveal soaked layers of red and brown bandages, and Hiccup hissed as the pressure began lifting steadily.

"Did you bandage this yourself?" she asked him with a concerned scowl.

"Either I do it or I let my dad do it." Hiccup stated matter o' factly, his voice light despite the pained, breathless look on his face. "I always pick me. My dad's…well, you know who to call if you need to break something. But fixing…You should see his attempts at cooking." Hiccup tried to joke, but Astrid gave him a pointed look, one that clearly stated that if he wasn't in so much pain already, she'd slug him with the back end of an axe.

Hiccup smiled wryly. He wanted to lighten the mood desperately, but couldn't find the words in his brain. Astrid's focus went back to his leg, biting her lower lip and frowning as she concentrated on is wood.

"Hold your leg off the ground." She said as she pulled the metal from his skin, gently removing the metal leg. "I'm going to wash this thing in the cooling bucket. How fresh is the water?"

Hiccup grimaced as he placed both his hands under his thigh and she stood up. "Umm…I wouldn't use it to clean anything."

Astrid nodded, instead going to the door, opening it, and placing the metal leg in the freshly fallen snow outside. The winter wind and a heap of snow barrelled into the forge before Astrid finished wiping the blood and was able to close the door again.

She shivered once, shaking the snow off her.

"Have any fresh bandages around?"

Astrid nodded. "In my pack, over there with the saddle."

She was back in front of him within seconds, the fresh bandages in hand as she pulled his bad leg over her lap, stool pushed closer to him as she continued to work in silence. Through the pain, Hiccup could feel the strands of her slightly dishevelled blonde hair tickle what was left of his leg. He breathed in sharply as Astrid tugged the cloth tightly, hoping to get Hiccup through this as quickly as possible.

When she was done bandaging, she put his steel leg back on, and he helped her get it on right, tugging the leather straps into place, and Hiccup couldn't help but feel his heartbeat quicken every time his fingers brushed by hers.

Then there was silence as he didn't dare move, and she kept his leg on her lap. He didn't care that it was getting a little stiff from being held up like that. Her fingers were resting on his leg, her left hand on the steel and her right felt warm against his flesh.

"So…" Hiccup broke the silence, and she startled a little, looking up at him, eyes wide. "One hell of a battle wound, huh. It's like what Snotlout said, right? I'll have all the chicks in Berk running after me. They'll probably all catch me too, because I really can't walk all that fast…" Hiccup noticed that what he was saying was not helping Astrid's mood at all, and so he wisely shut up.

Astrid gently put his leg down and Hiccup stretched it out absentmindedly, bending his knee a few times.

She made to get up, and Hiccup didn't know what he was doing but his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. Astrid sat back down slowly, staring at the slightly callous, burn-covered hand gripping hers.

"Umm…" Astrid was staring at him pointedly now, and Hiccup couldn't possibly comprehend why of all times, this was the moment his brain decided to run out of words. "Thanks. It feels… better. Less numb, I think…"

He let go of her and tried to stand, and she watched him do so with concern apparent in her light-coloured eyes. When she tried to offer him support, he gently shook his head.

"I need to get better at this."

She nodded, understanding pride. She backed off and went back for her cloak, but she hadn't taken two steps that she felt a hand on her elbow.

"You're going with them tomorrow on the hunt, right?" there was bitterness in his voice that was badly masked underneath his dry tone. "I bet you'll do amazing, out of all the rookies…" Then, without any warning, she spun around, arms wrapping around his neck tightly, startling Hiccup back a bit, but she held on and didn't let him fall over.

Eyes wide, he hugged her back, slowly. He didn't remember the last time he'd been hugged. Her hair was soft and he could feel the contours of her nose and forehead pressed against his neck. She was a little bit taller than him, he thought regretfully. If _only_ he wasn't so scrawny. Suddenly, without moving, Astrid spoke up, her words carefully said, as if she'd given it thought beforehand.

"You don't need a battle scar to have my favour, Hiccup. I won't run after you like those giggling idiots," she frowned at the thought of other girls chasing him, "but I'd like to ride dragons by your side, if you'll let me."

Hiccup couldn't help the elation that bubbled through his pain, through his bitterness. There was something incredible in Astrid's subtle promise. Sure, all the rookies had come to his aid when he'd gone after his father and Toothless. But her assertion that she'd be there, that she wanted to fly with him...

Hiccup beamed.

She untangled from him and the smile she saw on his face, reaching into his green eyes, was unexpected. She liked his smile, she mused, she hadn't seen it ever quite so earnest, quite so dazzling. He was easy to like, she realized as she returned his smile with one of her own. He was... he was a kid who had tamed a dragon. And saved his village from a most certain demise. And he'd stood by his friend, even though Toothless was a dragon, and his beliefs, even when his own father and tribe had turned against him. This kid was braver than she'd ever given him credit for. With a bit of a smirk, Astrid realized this dragon rider, this Viking wasn't much of a kid anymore.

Eyes sparkling, Astrid poked him hard on the shoulder.

"Hey!" Hiccup protested with a grin, careful not to lose his balance.

"That's for making me worry about your leg." Astrid stated self-righteously.

"Oh yeah?" he grinned, hoping what he thought was going to happen, was going to happen.

"Yeah." She stared hard at him, smirking a little. Then, without flinching, she pressed her lips to his in a manner that made Hiccup's stomach summersault. Closing his eyes, he let his hands find her sides and slowly wrap around her, trying not to lean on her too much. These last few days had been a whirlwind of moments, happiness, bitterness, loss – his mind could barely comprehend this act called kissing, but it was sending his brain on a whole new loop of crazy.

"Com'on." Astrid muttered, pulling her face only slightly away from his. Hiccup opened his eyes halfway. Her breath felt warm against his cheeks. He could make out all sorts of beautiful details in her bright eyes. "I gotta get you home so that I can go get yelled at by mom for missing supper again."


	2. Chapter 2

**Drakkar: **Viking longship

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**Here Be Dragons**

**Chapter Two**

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The Town Hall was in a great commotion. In just a few hours after this morning meeting, Stoick the Vast would be leading this year's group of hunters out into the ocean on one of the newly repaired and refurbished drakkar. With the dragons in the village, there was even more food to account for. Though the village dragons often hunted on their own, the easiest way to a dragon's heart was through his stomach (as Hiccup discovered weeks ago), and the Berk Vikings had big hearts when it came to sharing food with their friends and new allies.

Astrid stood slightly behind her mother, a tall blonde woman with sharp eyes and a serious face. For a few weeks now, her mother had been allowing her to come to the village meetings, so that Astrid would one day be ready to stand on her own around Stoick's table and give her input. Astrid had felt a surge of pride the first time she'd been seen at the council meeting by her mother's side. Though the topics at hand tended to fly over her head, she paid rapt attention, intent on preparing herself more than adequately.

Stoick the Vast was explaining their course to the village, explaining the expected time frames of each stop along the way.

As she was looking at their leader from behind her mother, Astrid noticed a fluffy bob of auburn hair just behind Stoick's shadow. She couldn't help the little grin that adorned her face. He looked sleepy, his hair unkempt, as if Stoick had thrown him out of bed just in time for the meeting. He had bangs under his eyes and his eyes were unfocused, as if he was lost once again in a daydream. Though she would have chided herself for not paying attention, his manners made her smile.

He must have felt eyes upon him, or perhaps it was Stoick's broad hand slamming against the wooden table before him, but Hiccup lifted his eyes to meet hers, and she felt a twinge of fear, like she'd just been caught. The feeling of unease fled her mind when he smiled at her, that lopsided smile she'd only seen him use for her or when Toothless was being especially cute (though the dragon usually refused the word "cute" as an acceptable epithet.)

Astrid smiled back brilliantly and nodded at him. He was doing the same as her – following his father to meetings, preparation for the years to come. Hiccup used to be the bane of the village – though it was never explicitly said that dramatically. She was glad his father was taking him to this meeting, and hoped this was the start of a good trend. It was customary for Viking chiefs to pass on the leadership of the tribe to their strongest or oldest sons. Though Stoick only had one son, no one had truly expected Stoick the Vast in his right mind to pass along the title to his clumsy, awkward and meek son – well, until now.

Astrid wondered, as she saw Stoick turn to his son, if Hiccup wouldn't rather be off hanging out with his dragon. He was a good leader in his own, quiet way. She'd seen him take charge to save Toothless and the adults, and even the twins hadn't questioned him. But she could see a nervousness settle in his eyes as Stoick pushed his son forward into the firelight.

"While we are gone, I have put Hiccup in charge of the forge in Gobber's absence. Also, because he is the local expert on all things dragon, I would like to make sure that all the elders see eye to eye with him on the subject of our newest allies – if it is possible, if the dragons could be ordered to help with village matters, put them to work under Hiccup's guidance and recommendation. While the hunters are gone, the dragons will be key to the security of the village. There hasn't been word from other tribes since the last winter- this could be a good sign. But we shouldn't get too comfortable."

From what Astrid had always been told, being located on the meridian of misery, Berk was usually an unlikely target for wars and conflict that arose between the Viking tribes. She looked at Hiccup, who seemed to be at once scared of the spotlight and relieved that no one in the council spoke up against him being put in charge_._ She wished Hiccup would look at her again and reassure her – or so she could reassure him - but he was staring out into the crowd, trying to wear the face of a son who would do his father proud.

"Be safe without us – and be prudent with the last of the rations while we are gone. May Thor keep the storms at bay, and Aegir guard our hunters over the seas." Stoick proclaimed, and with a loud clamor of armor and shouts of encouragement, the council was dismissed.

"Mum, I'll meet you outside in a moment…" Astrid leaned over and told her distracted mother gently. Then she squeezed her way through the sea of burly Viking towards Hiccup. She wanted to get a chance to speak to him before they had to start loading the boats and the havoc of saying goodbye to everyone truly started.

"Hiccup?" She caught his attention just as she came up to his side. Behind him stood the hunched figures of his father and Gobber, who were talking animatedly.

He turned to face Astrid, and greeted the girl nervously. "Hey Astrid- so you heard all that, huh?" he scratched the back of his hair sheepishly, wishing his hair wasn't quite so disheveled.

"Yeah." She stood before him now, "You'll manage just fine."

"I hope." Hiccup stated quietly.

"Take care of my Nadder while I'm gone, will you? She gets a little lonely without attention." Astrid asked him, changing the subject.

Hiccup grinned, "So you two have been getting along? And a she's a 'she'?"

Astrid nodded pensively. "I'm _pretty_ sure she's female. I'm not really sure how one can tell, but she just acts…very feminine sometimes. She also hates being dirty. I'm not really sure, guess I'm just in the habit of thinking of her as a girl."

"It's okay, I believe you." Hiccup stated. His leg wasn't bothering him at all right now, and he edged towards her a little. Even though the great hall was mostly empty now, he wished they were alone again. He'd spent a good few hours last night going over what Astrid had told him, and reliving the kiss over and over. He'd even described the situation to Toothless instead of trying to sleep. Toothless remembered Astrid and seemed to have taken a bit of a liking to her as well, and had simply snickered amusedly at his smitten human while the boy rambled.

Hiccup and Astrid spoke a bit more about the council and the trip, and what Hiccup planned to do while everybody was gone. As the two teens spoke, Gobber made a shushing sound and grinned slyly to Stoick as he pointed over the scarlet bearded man's shoulder.

Stoick turned and stared at his son and his blonde friend. They were far too involved talking to each other to notice the two men looking at them. Stoick wish he could see his son's face, but from the look on the girl's, she seemed quite happy.

Gobber chuckled. "Ah Astrid…I remember her mother at that age. Fearsome woman. Good with an axe. Beautiful, too."

Stoick turned to his old friend, shaking his head. Despite the disgruntled look on his face, Gobber could tell the chief was glad.

For good measure, Gobber added, "Eh. The boy _would_ go for the most violent girl in the village."

Stoick's humongous eyebrows shot up at that, and Gobber dragged the chief away towards the door, giving the two a bit more privacy.

The two noticed that all but the elders had left by now, and Hiccup smiled nervously at the blonde girl before him. "You should probably get going, huh?"

"I guess so."

"Well, then..." he looked at her expectantly, uncertaintly.

Astrid thought quickly of what she could do. Though the elders were not looking, it still felt very alien to be out in the open like this. It made Astrid uneasy. Nonetheless, she reached out her hand. He raised his hand to meet hers and their fingers met. At first it felt like nothing more than the brush of a feather against his skin, before he closed his hand of hers.

"Hiccup, don't worry about being in charge. You saved the entire village once – this will be like a vacation."

"Haha, some vacation. I have so much work to do!" Hiccup joked melodramatically.

Without letting go of his hand, she shoved him with her free arm. "Don't complain. Just get it done." she chided.

"Okay. Okay." Hiccup conceded, holding back a grin. "And you'll watch yourself, right? I won't be there to make sure you don't get eaten by something ferocious."

With an even, unamused look in her eyes, Astrid punched him, trying hard not to feel guilty when he stumbled back on his bad leg and held on to the table.

"That." she said, moving towards him with a confident step, "is for bragging."

She didn't have the chance to say anything more when Hiccup pulled her to him. Without skipping a beat, her eyelids gently closed as their lips met. Leaning against the edge of the table, he could hold Astrid against him properly, and with a slight twinge in his heart realized he didn't want her to leave today – why now, when he'd just discovered the marvels of kissing, when he'd just discovered how soft the skin of the toughtest girl in Berk felt?

When she pulled away from him, eyes blinking lazily, he looked into her eyes and willed himself to memorize the patterns of light blue and grey.

She was still gathered up in his arms against him. As he let go of her, his cheeks bright red, he tried to find a way to say what was going on in his head in the least ridiculous way possible.

"Astrid! Get yourself out here now! It's almost time!" the shrill voice of a woman rang through their slight stupor, making Hiccup jump a little.

"Coming, mom!" Astrid yelled back, taking a few steps back from the auburn-haired boy. "I better go," she half-whispered to him.

"Yeah... I'll see you out there." He still wasn't completely used to his leg, and would probably be walking a bit behind her if she hurried.

"Okay." she nodded before fleeing towards where her mother stood.

Hiccup sighed as he heard the huge door close behind them. He couldn't explain the strange feeling settling at the base of his stomach, as if he'd just forgotten something important, or lost something irreplaceable.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the reviews guys. I've been getting some really awesome ones and you have no idea how amazing those are. My life sucks a lot right now, and writing this story really isn't one of my priorities but it has been really rewarding. Thank you! I hope you enjoy this update: it's a little slow on the fluffiness, but I had to write about Toothless. So this is a chapter all about him. Sort of. Teehee!

If you see any mistakes, PLEASE do not hesitate to tell me about them! :3

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**Here Be Dragons**

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The cliffs that lined the rocky shores of Berk were plated in gorgeous blue slabs of ice. The ocean crashed relentlessly in great white layers of turbulent waves, and the splash rose so high Toothless had to consciously stay clear of its freezing spray as the dragon and his rider dashed onwards and upwards. They rode through the chilling winds, and Hiccup's bare cheeks and knuckles felt raw and red and exposed. Covered in three extra layers of fur and still frozen to the bone, Hiccup tightened his hold on the reins. It took a lot of willpower to remain properly on the leather saddle with this fierce wind. Numbness gradually ate away at Hiccup's foot and hands and even the very tip of his nose. Toothless, having the good fortune of being a dragon, and having the innards of a roaring volcano, was thankfully not bothered much by the wind at all, and was grateful to feel so high in altitude once more.

The early morning skies were pale. The ocean reflected the greyness of the world, a faint line of pale mist shrouding the horizon. The sea that lapped up against the island's beaches had yet to freeze over properly, but Hiccup figured only a few days more were left before winter set in for good. The night before almost three feet of snow had fallen. Berk was covered in a thick blanket that had all the younger children thrilled at the prospects of epic ice forts and snowball battles.

Toothless let out his trademark roar, eager to speed up. Hiccup clicked a gear with his left foot, and together they banked hard to the left, heading out to sea. The dark waters were agitated, and Toothless agilely dodged the large whitecaps as he covered their usual territory.

For a few hours they remained airborne. As Toothless darted like the wind itself, Hiccup's green eyes scanned the grey corners of the world, avid for any clue and any sign. His heart quickened as he thought of the one the ships would return to him, and for a while he let the thought warm him.

"Alright buddy, I'm freezing. Let's go home." Hiccup yelled over the howling wind, patting his dragon's neck. The smooth black scales were intensely warm against his calloused fingers. The past month working relentlessly in the forge had added many burns and calluses to an already plentiful collection.

Toothless skyrocketed upwards, and in perfect sync Hiccup shifted the gears of the mechanical tail fin accordingly. Berk was not far – from above, the entire island could be seen, a dark green and white spot in a gray, icy world.

A few of the villagers were wandering, mostly shoveling snow or going about their daily business. The children had already set up a massive battlefield along the outskirts of the village, and it looked like they were using a gang of Terrible Terrors to help them build fortifications.

Hiccup noticed one of the elders standing on the village lookout. It was that same perch overlooking Berk and the sea that Gobber had used weeks ago, roasting dinner with the other recruits during dragon training on clear nights. The fire pit was black with cold coals, covered in a thin layer of snow.

The elder watched Hiccup and Toothless land on the edge of the makeshift tower. A crooked smile spread over her face at the sight of the pair. As Toothless landed, she was careful to avoid the length of the Night Fury's flapping wings as the dark dragon settled down.

"Elder." Hiccup greeted, dismounting. He tried to flatten his wind-blown hair, and straightened his back under the older tribeswoman's knowing gaze.

"Hiccup." responded the old woman, her old crooked mouth bent into a thin smile. She remained (as many of the older inhabitants of Berk) slightly wary of the dragon currently stretching out its limbs like a cat. "How was your morning run?"

"Chilly." the young man responded.

Hiccup was able to walk without limping now – at least when his leg wasn't tired. He stood by the elder's side, and gazed out to the horizon. The elder was looking out to sea, her gaze shrouded in a black expression, and the teenager sighed quietly. With a bit of a heavy heart, Hiccup then said:

"I don't think we'll see them today."

The elder nodded, her face bearing a serious expression Hiccup couldn't quite read. "We shall keep our eyes open then, and pray they return soon. How is your leg treating you, boy?"

Hiccup gazed down at the prosthetic contraption replacing his left foot. "Eh," he shrugged, "It's not so bad, once you get used to it."

"You're a good lad." she said, her bony hand patting his shoulder. She then slowly went to sit on one of the round logs, probably intent on keeping her vigil throughout the day.

"Is there anything you would have me do today?" Hiccup asked her politely. Throughout the weeks of the hunter's absence, the elders had asked Hiccup to help tame the dragons now living within Berk, teach them rules of orderliness in the village and ensure the children understood the dangers of dragons and how to behave accordingly.

The elder smiled, gripping her staff and leaning forward. "Do your work in the forge, Hiccup, and don't exert yourself. You've done well these past weeks. And have some breakfast, will you? You're a growing boy."

Hiccup sighed, but grinned proudly at the compliment. "Thank you, elder." He took leave then. Toothless purred in his usual fashion, eager to go get breakfast, and in a few rather smooth movements Hiccup leaped upon on Toothless' back. He scratched one of Hiccup's big black ears that were twitching excitedly. "Let's get some food, buddy."

The dragon needed little more prompting. With a delighted growl, the Night Fury swept into the air, and raced towards the chief's house on the hill overlooking the village.

The blue Deadly Nadder was waiting expectantly outside his father's hut when Hiccup came back out with the fish. The female dragon let them approach with breakfast. Her heavy head was held high and her stare was unflinching, and Hiccup smiled at the Nadder's thin-eyed gaze. In a way Hiccup was reminded of a suspicious blonde axe-wielding viking he knew. He thought it was interesting how the the dragon and her girl had such similar demeanors, and probably weren't even aware of it themselves.

"Good morning." he called gently to it, "Come have some breakfast with us."

Toothless let the basket of fish drop from his mouth. It landed in the soft snow with a muffled crunch. The contents spilled out, and the sight of the glimmering raw fish was enough to coax the Deadly Nadder closer to the Night Fury and his boy. The Deadly Nadder had been sharing meals with them for meals, and still she was weary of them. It wasn't without reason, Hiccup supposed. Not all dragons adjusted to the village lifestyle as quickly as (for example) the Terrible Terrors, who were truly enchanted by the games and mischief the younger members of Berk regularly indulged in.

"Hey girl." Hiccup cooed gently, his hand reaching out to pet her blue scales. The dragon gave out a small sound of recognition right before she dove into the pile of fish Toothless was already eating from. Hiccup snorted at the sight of the gluttonous reptiles. He could feel his own stomach twist from hunger, and was reminded that he had to set up his own breakfast.

He set up a small fire in front of the doorway to his house, ignoring the cold as it made his fingers heavy and hard to move. As he warmed up his hands he reached into a bag he'd slung around his shoulder, and produced half a loaf of rock-hard bread and a small cold chunk of roasted lamb. He was a fan of fish, but unlike the dragons, he enjoyed something a little less slimy for breakfast. The dragons ate noisily, the Deadly Nadder occasionally snapping at Toothless for grabbing the fish she'd wanted.

The fire Hiccup set up took moments to grow into something that warmed his hands. Carefully he unwrapped the cloth covering his palms and set his hands in front of the flame, eager for the tickling warmth.

He set out to warm up his meal, his eyes straying from time to time to the hunched figures of the dragons. They snapped and growled and grunted at each other menacingly, but Hiccup wasn't concerned. He'd had enough time observing dragon interactions in the past few weeks. That had been some very enlightening research on his part. Hiccup discovered that the relationships between dragons was much more complex than he'd originally thought. When the Green Death had been ordering them around, Hiccup and most of the village had seen the dragons as a cohesive unit, working together to attack and plunder the village and even the deadliest dragons rarely showed up alone. But now that they were integrating into the village, their hierarchy was in shambles. Without a head dragon to threaten their lives or a common enemy to attack or steal their next meal from, Hiccup noted while their aggression towards humans had nearly abated completely, their aggression towards each other surprised him by its ferocity. Dragons fought with each other, claw and spikes and fangs all out and ready, and didn't hold back in their fights over both food and shelter (or even for a particular human's attention!).

At first Hiccup had intervened and stopped the dragons, worried that the fighting would scare to oblivion the fragile peace between the humans and their allies. Toothless was the one to actually show Hiccup the reason behind the in-fighting. As the only dragon who was never challenged, Toothless had held Hiccup back the day Astrid's Deadly Nadder nearly tore the tail off another dragon that had been unfortunate enough to try to steal some food for her. And when Hiccup had gotten angry at the dragon for holding him back, Toothless had brought Hiccup's attention back to the fight, his eyes filled with a look that said: "Watch!".

Astrid's Deadly Nadder had the other dragon pinned down, her ferocious head about to snap the other dragon's neck off, when the dark red dragon squirmed and to Hiccup (and most of the villager's surprise) let out a sound not unlike the soft mewl of a kitten.

Completely satisfied, the Deadly Nadder promptly stood up, letting the offending dragon slither away terrified, and seemed to puff out her chest proudly before taking off with her fish to a comfortable place to eat.

It was only after Hiccup had thoroughly examined the other dragon for any injury that he discovered that the entire thing was a display of dominance. Looking at Toothless, who was wearing a bored, unimpressed face, Hiccup asked the dark dragon: "So they're just settling who's boss?"

With a delighted purr, relieved that his human had _finally_ understood the point, Toothless gently whacked the back of Hiccup's head with the edge of his wing.

After that was settled, Hiccup had given specific instructions to all the villagers during a town meeting in the great stone hall.

"The dragons are fighting for dominance. They were once part of a tribe, and now that they are part of ours they need to establish who's boss. According to what I've been able to gather, the dragons will fight once, a sort of duel or play fight, and then they will back off from each other. Do not intervene. As it only delays the inevitable."

One of the older men who had stayed behind to guard the village snickered. "They put value to strength, and are loyal to their code. There's some hope for these slimy beasts yet." There was a manly cheer in the hall, and Hiccup let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

And then, with a bit of a smile, Hiccup realized that maybe peace between dragons and their riders wouldn't be so difficult after all.

His memories faded from his thoughts, and he realized that Toothless was chirping (_chirping?_) at the Deadly Nadder, making all sorts of silly gestures. The Nadder, who at first was as standoffish as ever, finally gave in, and soon the Nadder and Toothless were dashing along, chasing each other. Even with his maimed tail, the Night Fury was clearly at an advantage, and Toothless started galloping around in all sorts of strange zigzag motions, trying to play a trick on the Nadder, who was resolute in her chase.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. He had a bit of a hard time believing that these were the beasts the Vikings had been so afraid of for generations.

It was the creaking of his steel foot that jostled him from that arrogant thought. The dragons may act no scarier than really big kittens sometimes, but Hiccup had seen the beasts' true power. These pets weren't really pets at all. They were allies and warriors in their own rights, with thoughts and the ability to communicate wordlessly in a manner that still shocked the auburn-haired teen daily.

Toothless had now pounced on the Deadly Nadder, who seemed to squawk indignantly. From his perch up the hill, Hiccup had to hold in a chuckle.

While Hiccup had wondered why he hadn't seen another Night Fury yet, he was thankful for it. The dragons didn't always stick to their own race during quiet times, such as in the early mornings or afternoons when dragons enjoyed napping. The beasts hunted in the evenings, and tended to spend their days lazying about content in the village.

Toothless solo status as a Night Fury seemed to give him an advantage over other dragons – his speed and strength were incredibly developed, and his fire seemed to burn in a way none of the others could – in blue and yellow blazes. Even if a dragon matched his speed, rarely could the dragon match Toothless' strength, and the same went for the stronger dragons, who were just too slow.

All the same, Hiccup wondered bitterly, Toothless was the only one of his kind he'd seen to date. And despite the fact that Hiccup guiltily enjoyed being the rider of the strongest dragon, he sometimes wished he could ask his best friend if he had family somewhere, if he'd come from the same place as the other dragons. He'd always been a lone gun, operating alone in the dark back when Berk was under attack every other night. Toothless didn't seem lonely now, always nipping at his ankles or prancing around mischievously until Hiccup agreed to go flying.

Hiccup grinned as we watched his dragon get outsmarted in a wrestling match.

For a brief moment, he was certain that Toothless had let the Nadder win, but the blue reptile looked incredibly _pleased_, an almost evil glint in her eye, and Hiccup was reminded of his blue eyed Viking off sailing, and promptly fell into another daydream.


	4. Chapter 4

**Here Be Dragons**

_Chapter Four_

This was definitely the most mind-numbingly part of being the short, limping guardian of the village in the vikings' warriors absence.

The boats still weren't back yet.

It had been days since his conversation with the old elder atop the tower. Hiccup had run out of distractions and had run out of his delicate calm - he was most certainly becoming more nervous every sunrise that revealed a blank horizon, yet again. Even Toothless had noticed his worry, making a low concerned rumble from the back of his dragon mouth every time he showed up with a new stick, or fish, or rock, and the forlorn boy didn't notice.

In Hiccup's lifetime, he had yet to experience a hunting party gone wrong. From what Gobber and his father had always insinuated, the consequences were ominous. Villagers disappeared without a trace, their smiles as they said goodbye becoming a precious if treacherous final memory. Even more perilous was the hunger that the village would experience as the winters worsened, and the hunters failed to return.

The boredom and waiting was wearing on the village's shoulders like a sack full of old blacksmith's material. There were chores to be done - the village was focusing on refortifying the houses for winter, and building a new stockpile warehouse for all the fish to be stored for the dragons. Hiccup had had trouble establishing the need for such a building - the villager's didn't quite understand at first why the dragons couldn't fish their own winter nourishment. Hiccup had to explain the dragon's natural tendency to horde food - and building them an appropriate building would only help foster dragon-human relationships.

The wharehouse's construction was being overseen by the older men and many of the children helped where the jobs where not too dangerous.

Hiccup could usually be found in the forge until late at night, working on tools and on refining designs for the particular dragons so that every dragon breed has their own unique equipment.

But early in the morning Hiccup would rise (despite being barely on the verge of manhood, he found it difficult to sleep in with a sawed-off leg that pained him terribly late at night and early in the morning, throbbing and numb and raw from being leaned on all day.) Hiccup knew the pain in his leg would improve, and in small way Hiccup noticed improvements. But the harshness of his reality - his lost leg - weighed heavy on the young blacksmith's shoulders.

Ice white waters foamed as the undulating currents hit under the old creaking docks. The faint repetitive murmur of of the waves played over and over on the edge of Hiccup's mind, occupying his subconsciousness as his eyes scanned the grey line of the horizon. His focus was not on the sounds reaching into his ears, but was funneled through his squinting auburn eyes. His gaze brushed against the horizon, and his sigh passed over the dark rocks that jutted out of the sea like silent, ominous guardians. xxThe wind picked up imperceptibly over the ocean. Hiccup felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise, and fought against a shiver running along his spine.

Then, from behind and atop the tall cliffs of Berk, there was a shout.

"Sail 'ho!" cried out a child excitedly. "They're back! The hunters! The hunters! There are boats over there!"

Like a ripple, the entire village was alerted within minutes. Shouts and disorder ensued. Worried mothers and grandparents and children rushed outside, dropping everything.

Hiccup looked quickly from the commotion above him to the ocean, squinting some more. Finally he saw it. White, square dots of the sails moving over the grey, almost indistinguishable from the dark tormented sea surrounding them. The day wasn't particularly bright, and the wind was steady so far. If it kept up, Hiccup theorized they'd be upon Berk before the early winter sunset.

Hiccup breathed deeply. His heart was racing all of a sudden. The thought of waiting a second longer was painful. The boats moved afar at a snail's pace – and though he could now see the shapes of the boats' sails more clearly, he knew he wouldn't be able to sit and wait a moment more.

"Gah." Hiccup raged quietly. He wished time would speed up.

A not-so-soft nudge against his shoulder bumped him to the side.

"Whaddya want, Toothless?" The teen asked his friend as he struggled to stay balanced on the uneven planks of wood that lined the docks. Toothless looked pointedly at him.

"What?" Hiccup asked again, and this time the dragon shook his great black face towards the sky, out to sea. Hiccup stared out to where his dragon was pointing. After a few moments, the Night Fury whined.

"You want to go meet them now?"

Toothless jumped like a please cat, rubbing the top of his head to Hiccup's side. Hiccup couldn't help the laugh.

"Alright. Let's give them a proper welcome."

In a few short, practiced moves the boy was perched on the dragon's saddle. A few clicks of the mechanical tail later, the pair bolted off into the sky.

Seconds into the rushing wind, Hiccup heard a roar. Looking back, he saw dozens of the village dragons soared up after them, flooding the sky.


End file.
